Apology Issued for Indian Boarding School System

On Friday, October 25, President Joe Biden issued an apology for the nation's role in forcing indigenous children into boarding schools such as the one that was in Martinsburg.

The apology was led by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the agency.

"The apology is a long time coming," Cori Bolger, a local researcher from the Cove said.

She said the Martinsburg Indian School is located along the 400 and 500 blocks of East Allegheny Street, and Park and Walnut streets, with Julian street at the rear.

Professor Philip H. Bridenbaugh built the building which was the site of a seminary, the Juniata Collegiate Institute, and used it for many other purposes.

Jared Frederick, assistant history professor at Penn State Altoona said one of the oldest was in Carlisle which opened in 1879, with Martinsburg opening not long after in 1885.

"It was a means of indoctrination," he said.

In 1885, Bridenbaugh opened a school for Native American Students in the building.

At the time, the government was contracting with boarding schools to provide "training" to children from Indian Reservations to assimilate the tribal nations into 19th century society.

The Martinsburg Indian School also had ties to the Carlisle Indian Training School.

Bolger said that there were about 100 students who attended the school in Martinsburg, with some coming directly from reservations and others transferring from the Carlisle school.

She has been researching the school and its role in shaping Martinsburg history, by looking through the archives of the Martinsburg Herald and Altoona newspapers from the time to piece together the information.

Frank Vitale IV, an assistant professor and archivist at Millersville University, has spent about a decade researching the Carlisle Indian School.

He said the Martinsburg school was part of a larger network of 417 schools found across the nation.

"It was only around for three years, and had about 100 students, so it was one of the smaller schools," Vitale said.

He said with the town only having about 500 residents at the time, people would have interacted with the children in the same shops, fields, churches, and many other places.

"The great-grandparents of the families in the area probably played with the children on the same playgrounds," Vitale said.

While he has not spoken with the tribes about President Biden's apology, he continues to work with them on the research.

Vitale thinks it is seen as a positive step forward in the right direction, but it is not the last thing that needs to be done.

"There is a lot of work to be done now," he said. "I hope this will keep the ball rolling."

Vitale said Haaland is leading the agency that ran the schools starting in the 1880s.

"That in of itself is a significant milestone," he said. "Secretary Haaland asked for this investigation to begin about three years ago.

Vitale said the final investigation came out in two parts, with the last coming out in July.

It identified over 417 schools that the federal government was involved in both directly and indirectly supporting as part of the system of boarding schools.

"This is a very important step - multiple world leaders have already apologized for their part in the boarding school system," he said. " This is the first time an American president has apologized for the system."

Vitale said it is important because the system affected the generation of Native Americans in the country in very negative ways.

"Having this recognition is the first step towards greater recognition and hopefully repairing some of those damages," he said.

Vitale said the school is an important part of Martinsburg history that does not get talked about.

"It is not just local history, it is part of national history," he said. "It is one of the schools listed on the inventory, and it's getting national attention. It is a part of our nation's history, and it is part of Blair County's history. It is important to recognize that Martinsburg is tied to this."

Vitale said the school was in their backyard, and it might drive up emotions that might be uncomfortable for some.

Frederick said many of these schools remained open until the 1930's.

"Many people don't realize this is something that was still happening in our grandparent's time," he said.

Frederick said he thought it was important for the people of Martinsburg to recognize what happened in their town in the late 19th century.

"There may be some criticism towards President Biden's apology, but I take a different approach," he said. "I think it is important to have these conversations."

He compared it to when President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which gave surviving Japanese Americans a formal apology and reparations for their incarceration during World War II.

To follow this, it was allowed to be taught in schools.

"Presidents have been doing this for many years, pardoning people and apologizing for wrong doing which is a necessary step in healing," Frederick said.

He thought that there should be a display and marker.

"I think a community marker would be very fitting," Frederick said. "It would be a testament to the local history."

He said while it might not be comfortable to remember what happened at the Martinsburg Indian School, it is important to talk about it.

"Talking about it can be therapy, and can promote healing and growth in the community," Frederick said. "I hope the people of Martinsburg embrace the story."

Bolger said she would like a marker for the school too because it is an important part of American and Martinsburg history, but said they need the tribal leaders of Osage and Oneida to also be on board.

"It might take a while because it is still a sensitive subject for them," she said.

Under pressure, Bridenbaugh closed the Martinsburg institution in the summer of 1888.

Vitale said that there were two students that died while at the school and are both buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Martinsburg.

Remaining students were sent home or transferred to the Carlisle school. The building on East Allegheny street was demolished in 1948 and private homes were built on the block.

Bolger's great-grandparents' home was built on the site of the school building.